March 30, 2014

Liberia: Tracking the contacts of the Ebola cases

The Daily Observer was informed late Sunday night by Health and Social Welfare Minister, Dr. (MD) Walter Traub Gwenigale that of the five blood samples sent to Lyons, France for testing, two tested positive with the Ebola virus, which has a “case fatality rate of 90 percent,” according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

“Now, of the two samples, one has already died in Foya, Lofa County and the other person was the sister of the dead person. This sister was the one looking after [the deceased] when she fell sick. Blood from her, too, tested positive,” Dr. Gwenigale told the Observer.

According to him, his worries are now centered on the surviving sister of the deceased (both of their names remain unknown) as she reportedly travelled from Lofa to Firestone in Margibi County and likely interacted with several persons along the way. This opens a possibility that some of the people she interacted with on her way and since her arrival in Firestone have also become infected.

“We have informed Dr. Mabande who is the medical director there and they are trying to quarantine her,” Dr. Gwenigale said.

The Health and Social Welfare Minister disclosed that authorities at the US Government’s Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, GA had also called him concerning the news from France, and said they (authorities at CDC) had already been briefed.

Click through for the full report and a map showing the distance between Foya and Firestone, near Harbel—and not that far from Monrovia.

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The Daily Observer was informed late Sunday night by Health and Social Welfare Minister, Dr. (MD) Walter Traub Gwenigale that of the five blood samples sent to Lyons, France for testing, two tested positive with the Ebola virus, which has a “case fatality rate of 90 percent,” according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

“Now, of the two samples, one has already died in Foya, Lofa County and the other person was the sister of the dead person. This sister was the one looking after [the deceased] when she fell sick. Blood from her, too, tested positive,” Dr. Gwenigale told the Observer.

According to him, his worries are now centered on the surviving sister of the deceased (both of their names remain unknown) as she reportedly travelled from Lofa to Firestone in Margibi County and likely interacted with several persons along the way. This opens a possibility that some of the people she interacted with on her way and since her arrival in Firestone have also become infected.

“We have informed Dr. Mabande who is the medical director there and they are trying to quarantine her,” Dr. Gwenigale said.

The Health and Social Welfare Minister disclosed that authorities at the US Government’s Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, GA had also called him concerning the news from France, and said they (authorities at CDC) had already been briefed.

Click through for the full report and a map showing the distance between Foya and Firestone, near Harbel—and not that far from Monrovia.